


Shouting at Ghosts

by Electrasev5n



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale, 幽☆遊☆白書 | YuYu Hakusho: Ghost Files
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 03:20:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4247412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Electrasev5n/pseuds/Electrasev5n
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kagome doesn't fall into the well on her birthday. She manages to find trouble anyway.</p><p>Inuyasha/Yu Yu Hakusho crossover, with the modern era transplanted to about 2010.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's a crime even if a cat does it

The day before Kagome turned fifteen was an ordinary day. She went to school. She came home. Buyo escaped the shrine and managed to get onto a train heading to Saitama.

“What?” Kagome stopped tapping her pencil against the desk. “You saw- are you sure?” She clenched her cell until the kitsune charm glued to her cellphone case jerked protest.

“No joke!” Eri’s voice was tinny through the phone. “Look-”

She pulled away from her cell just as it chimed a new text message. Kagome pulled the picture open. “Aa,” she said faintly.

“That’s him, isn’t it?” Judging from Eri’s tone, it was obvious that she was certain.

Unfortunately, Buyo _really was_ asleep on some stranger’s briefcase on the Tokyo line. Kagome tugged on the end of her hair. “How?” She asked her split ends. “I don’t understand.”

Eri laughed. “Maa, you’d better put your shoes on, Kagome-chan. Want me to find out his last known location?”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Kagome moaned. “Where would any of us be without your gossip network?” She chirped a goodbye and hung up before Eri could protest that what she did was definitely not gossip, it was just being sociable.

_‘This is just too much. How did Buyo even get a ticket? Does he have any money? Is he a stowaway? I hope my cat’s not doing anything illegal. I can't afford to pay bail.’_

“Mom!” She poked her head into the kitchen. “Did you know Buyo got on a train for Saitama about an hour ago?”

Sota looked up from where he was making a volcano on the kitchen table. “Sis is talking crazy again.” He stuck his tongue out at her, still smiling a little bit.

“I hope that goes flat,” she sniped back, indicating his science project.

“That’s enough, you two,” Mama said mildly. She used a finger as a bookmark and looked up. “Are you certain? I thought he was sleeping on your bed.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Kagome held open her phone to display the evidence. “Eri called me a few minutes ago.”

Her family gathered around to verify.

Her rotten little brother was the first to comment. “The cat gets out more than you do.” Sota giggled. “That’s not true,” Grandfather said. Kagome went to beam at him for supporting her, but then -“She’s going out to get the cat, isn’t she? They’re matched.”

Traitor.

“I love all of you very much,” Kagome said darkly. “I’m going to go out now. After I find the cat, I’m going to find a new family.”

Mama tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. “Have fun, dear. Don’t be out too late. I assume Eri-chan has someone spying on Buyo?”

“He might already be detained,” Kagome confirmed. “Bye!”

Eri’s next text brought enough information for Kagome to find herself at a train station she’d never visited before. It didn’t look like a place Buyo would be content. He was a one girl kind of cat.

_‘I arrived almost two hours behind the train Buyo took. Will he still be here?’_

She bit her lip and twirled, hoping to see a flash of white and orange.

There!

Oh.

No. Buyo was not tall enough to poke over crowds, unless something drastic had happened on his adventure. Kagome slumped.

_‘That is definitely not my cat.’_

It was terribly, vibrantly _orange_ hair, however. For lack of options, she followed the flash of color out of the press of bodies. It turned out to belong to a lanky boy in a uniform she didn’t recognize. It looked like a middle school uniform, but he was just so tall. He had to be a highschooler.

Kagome nibbled on her sleeve, feeling out of place. She unlocked her phone, just in case she’d missed a text from Eri. Nope, but Yuka had asked if the geometry test was next Thursday or Friday. She tapped out a response without really thinking about it.

The boy she was following made a beeline for a pillar and taped up a piece of paper.

She faltered. _‘That’s a crime! You can’t put things up in a public space like that. It creates so much trash.’_

The teenager didn’t seem to care. He took a step backwards to admire it with a short stack of papers clenched at his hip, and then nodded sharply.

“You can’t do that!” someone protested.

“Aww, shaddup!” The boy wheeled around to the offender.

Kagome flinched away from the scary look on his face.

“It’s for a good cause, alright?”

Well. She had to look, now. Just to be absolutely safe, she waited a full minute after the rough-looking type had left to peer at his paper.

‘Wonderful cat found,’ bold katakana declared. ‘very friendly. Soft and very talkative. Ask Kuwabara.’ Then there were four little faces and something that might have been a thumbs up.

_'That sounds like Buyo.'_

She bolted after the boy who had her cat, elbowing a couple of salarymen in her haste. “Excuse me! Kuwabara-san!” Kagome cupped a hand around her mouth, wishing she hadn’t let him walk away so far. “Ah!” She lunged, jumping directly over a girl who had knelt to tie her shoes.

“Huh?” Kuwabara-san stopped walking and squinted, looking for the person who’d shouted his name. The instant that he spotted her, the tense hint of aggression in his posture fled. He curled his shoulders in and swallowed, not making eye contact. “Ah. I mean. Hello. How are you?”

…Up close, he wasn’t so scary.

Kagome sucked in a breath and straightened from her running stance. “Ano, you found a cat today?”

Once she was done thanking Kuwabara-kun for taking such good care of her cat, she tucked Buyo in her backpack and hugged him all the way home. She didn’t let him out of her sight the next day either. When a demon scratched at the well, roused by the surging ripples of a growth spurt in spiritual power, no one heard it.The seals held.

Her fifteenth birthday was a perfectly normal day. She got a lot of studying done. She had a small birthday party with Eri, Yuka, Ayumi, and Kuwabara-kun. Mama made a hotpot for dinner. The boy on the other side of the well slept.


	2. Crunch

Chapter Two

* * *

 

Kagome's phone chimed in the middle of breakfast. Sota made an exaggerated moaning sound and pretended to kiss his tamagoyaki. "I'm in loooove," he mocked.

That accusation was so baseless that she didn't even care about it.

"Shut it, squirt," Kagome ordered absently. She opened the text without putting down her chopsticks. "Aww." She melted.

"Eiikichi again?" Mama asked, taking her seat. She exchanged an amused look with Jii-chan. "Oh my. He has a little bow. How are you going to top that?"

"I took a pic of Buyo sleeping in the sink last night," Kagome informed. She retrieved said picture and sent 'my kitty is cuter than yours jpg'.

"This is the dumbest contest," Sota told his breakfast.

Jii-chan looked down over his newspaper. "Don't be rude, Sota. We could talk about your hobbies instead."

Her little brother colored pink. "Sorry." He scooped far too much rice into his mouth.

"I should go." Kagome put her dishes in the sink. "Thank you for breakfast, Mama. I have to run, I have errands to run before class so I can get home fast."

Mama hummed. "Don't worry about picking Sota up on the way home, I'll take care of that. His class is getting out early."

"Sounds good!" She pulled on her backpack and jumped in the entranceway, landing on her shoes with a triumphant thump. "Bye!"

At lunch, she opened her phone again. By then, she usually had a competitive photo response from Kuwabara, or a text detailing his adventures against rival gangs. She was particularly interested in hearing about what had become of his confrontation last night with a group of students from Rugafuji Jr High. He had some kind of standing grudge involved with that group that always made those scuffles interesting to hear about. She was starting to remember the names for various moves. Sometimes, she dreamed about skipping school and getting into fist fights against jerks who were rude or mean to cats or just had it coming.

She definitely wasn't vicariously enjoying the thrills of his fights. She definitely disapproved. It was just good to know what was going on in her friend's life.

But there was nothing waiting for a response.

Kagome frowned at the empty screen. "Fine," she grumbled, shoving the phone in her pocket. She was tempted to prompt him, but he could be studying. It would be a shame to disrupt that.

She threw herself into her classes with only a little preoccupation for the odd lack of response. Kagome was the third person to hand in the kanji exam. She preened a bit. After that, sports hour went really well too. Her kickball team beat all three rivals.

But Kuwabara-kun still didn't respond. By the time school ended, she was wondering if he'd landed in the hospital. As soon as the bell rang, she composed a quick, Does this mean you admit defeat?

_'There. He'll definitely respond to that. He refuses to lose anything.'_

She pulled her backpack on and stretched, elbows up above her head. It had been such a weird day. "Let's go! I don't want to miss the show tonight."

"Kagome, don't forget your school things." Yuka rolled her eyes. "And that's not for hours! You're such a goof."

She blinked at Yuka's voice. "Ehh?" Oh, right. "Saa, saa." Kagome waved her friend off and opened her bag again. "Notebook, textbooks… pen…" She dropped the items in the correct pouches one by one. "Aha! I nearly left this in my desk." Victorious, she waved her super cute pencil. "I would hate to leave this. Wouldn't it be sad not to have something this adorable?"

Eri collapsed back into her seat and let her face flop down onto her crossed arms. "Stop waving that in my face," she complained. "Now I need to get one too. But I can't get Mars too, copying you would be lame. You guys, you took the best ones!"

Ayumi didn't stop putting her school things away, but she gave the Sailor Uranus styled tip on her own pencil a satisfied look.

"Sorry," Yuka chirped. Jupiter was tucked behind her ear. "But you _did_ say you couldn't make it to the sleepover. Not last week, and not today either. You must be terribly busy. Surely you don't need a silly friendship pencil."

"Yeah, it's a real shame that we completely forgot about you," Kagome added, faking thoughtfulness.

But Ayumi was already giving up the game by hiding a smile behind her fingertips.

_'See if I let her hide things from Eri again.'_

Eri pounced. "You _did_ get me one! You liars!"

Ayumi eeped and tossed her hands up, face pink. She squirmed away from Eri's hands and let out a peal of laughter. "Eri, stop! Hey! You can't just reach into a girl's hair and take out pencils!"

"Maybe if you didn't hide everything in your hair!" Eri drew back triumphantly, eyes sparkling at the Sailor Neptune novelty pencil. "It's perfect!"

The girls meandered out of school, still laughing at how predictable Ayumi was. Kagome stretched her arms above her head and smiled up at the sun. It was one of the steamy hot August days that seemed to stretch on forever.

An insect clipped her hand. Kagome let out a surprised curse and pulled her wrist to her chest, rubbing at the sore spot with her other hand.

_'That was weird.'_

"What's wrong?" Eri blinked rapidly and leaned her face far too close into Kagome's personal space.

Kagome reached out and pushed her friend away by the forehead, grinning at her squawk. "I didn't notice that enormous bug until it hit me!" She jerked her head toward the green-shelled little monster. It… It had landed on the sidewalk after she'd smacked into it. It was turned to face her.

She shivered.

_'It feels like it's looking at me.'_

"Whaaaat?" Yuka drew out playfully, twirling to walk backwards ahead of the group. She started to skip, letting her hair bounce cheerfully. "I don't see a bug. Can't have been _that_ big, you baby. Toughen up!"

"Hey, it's enormous," Kagome pouted, pushing more cheer into her voice to make up for the ice nestling into her spine and the weird humming feeling in her teeth. She walked a little faster.

It really was an oversized bug. How had she missed that?"

"If you say so," Eri said doubtfully. She flipped her short hair. "Anyway! I have to go prepare for my adoring public." She waved, stepping off the main street towards her house.

"Have a good night!" the other three chorused, well-used to this pattern. They had been walking home together for years. Kagome's house was next on the line. She paused at the bottom of the stairs, hands around the straps of her backpack.

"Are you sure you don't want to just come up now?" Kagome checked. "My mom won't mind."

Yuka shook her head. "Nah, I need to drop off some books and grab my cell charger. I'd die without it."

"I'll walk with her," Ayumi added cheerfully. "You should go help your mom beat out futons. She works very hard!"

"Saa, saa." Kagome tossed her own backwards wave. "I'll see you in a few hours, then."

Another insect buzzed by her head. "Bug!" This time, Kagome jerked out of the way, shaking her hand frantically as if to dislodge the wrong feeling she had at the risk of physical contact.

Her friends laughter rang in her ears as they left.

_'Two of those bugs? It's like they're following me. Maybe it's the way I smell that attracts them? My shampoo?'_

She hustled up the stairs, eager to get away from those creepy things. Kagome was ten steps up before a prickling on her neck told her to turn around. She stopped with one foot upraised. She swiveled slowly.

A line of insects were buzzing and crawling around the rim of the first step. They were swarming, hard shells chinking when they collided in the air. Clink. Clink. Clink. Her teeth hurt. A small detachment of bugs lifted and flew off in the direction her friends had taken.

_'I'm glad my family is already home. I wouldn't want anyone walking through that now.'_

Ridiculous. They were just insects. They were just some kind of beetle she didn't know.

"Ha." Kagome forced out a nervous laugh, swallowing down her baseless fear with humor. "It's nice of them to respect the property line." She felt like little feet were walking up her back. She shuddered and ran her hands over her body to drown out the feeling and to prove that nothing was on her.

_'I should get inside.'_

Why did she think that? Why did it feel so important?

She lingered, feet held heavily to the concrete. They may as well have been glued. Kagome shook her head. "I'm being silly," she told herself firmly. When she lifted her foot, there was no resistance. "But I should go help Mama." She beat a hasty retreat up the long series of stairs without breaking a sweat, despite her jumping pulse.

Mama looked up sharply when Kagome let herself in, peering around the doorway. "Oh. It's just you, Kagome." Mama gave a smile, but it seemed thinner than usual. "I'm glad you're home early. I was hoping you could help with something. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, I suppose."

_'Mama, too? I shouldn't bother her with my bad feeling.'_

"Of course, I would love to help," Kagome responded on reflex. She followed her mother into the kitchen. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well." Mama rubbed her hands against her apron. "Could you start cutting daikon for tsukemono?"

Kagome gave a smile that she hoped was sympathetic. "Of course. Headache again?"

"Yes, the smell-"

"Hmph!"

Jii-chan was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "Never mind that. Kagome-chan, I could use your height. I'm putting up more protective seals around the shrine. The omens-"

He continued talking, but Kagome's attention slipped away.

_'Normally, I'd help later because it makes him happy. I never thought there was anything to the ofuda. But… I just have such an awful feeling. It couldn't hurt, could it?'_

"Of course, Jii-chan," Kagome answered when he stopped talking. Her grandfather blinked in surprise at her easy acquiesence. "Mama, can I come back to this? I promise I'll get the pickles started tonight!"

"A-aa." Mama nodded, but she seemed confused. "If that's what you want, Kagome."

"Hey, mom!" Sota called from the tv room. "Come and have a look at this?"

Mama blinked. "Just a moment, dear!" When she left the room, Kagome followed. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." Sota was laying on his stomach in front of the tv, holding his stuffed pig to his chest. He rolled over to look up at Mama. "I was watching my show, then the news came on over it."

"An emergency broadcast?" Mama's eyes widened. The family fell silent.

The man on the screen wore a blue suit and a troubled expression. "suspected gang activity. However, newer reports imply-

Static

-riots instead. The-

Static

Strange behaviors-

Static.

They waited in tense silence, but the news didn't come back on. Kagome bit her lower lip and stared at the wavering black and white lines.

"That's no good," Jii-chan broke the silence. "I'll turn on the radio."

"Un." Mama nodded, with a determined set to her mouth. "Kagome, Sota, I think it goes without saying that no one is leaving the house right now." She gave them one last serious look to ensure that message sunk in, then padded after her father.

Sota agreed easily and followed, reaching out to hold Mama's hand. Kagome swallowed, hard, and thought about Yuka and Ayumi. Hopefully they had reached Yuka's house safely and stayed there. And Eri- she'd walked the rest of the way home alone.

Kagome unlocked her cell, and her fingers trembled only a little. She opened a group text. After a second's thought, she included Kuwabara-kun.

Did you hear about the riots? Are you ok?

_'I could swear I hear a flute.'_

She turned the volume all the way up and tucked the phone into her pocket. As she did, it beeped. Kagome pulled it back out-

Message failed.

She swallowed.

_'I don't like this. I think I'm going to be sick.'_

"The radio isn't working!" Jii-chan called from the other room, sounding disgusted. "It's just static too."

"No, it isn't," Sota disagreed.

Kagome rounded the corner to see that her family looked confused. Sota looked from Mama to Jii-chan to Kagome.

"It's not static," Sota insisted, a line pressed into his forehead. "Isn't that where the awful flute sound is coming from?"

Kagome breathed in through her nose as quietly as possible and closed her eyes to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Sota might be right. It didn't exactly sound like it was coming from the radio, but where else could it possibly-

"What flute?" Her eyes flew open in time to see Mama kneel in front of Sota and press his bangs down. "Sota, there's no flute." She rubbed his back. "It's okay to be scared."

"It's not that," Sota protested. "There really is a flute."

_'This is not right.'_

"Mama, I hear it too."

For a moment, the Higurashi family just stared.

"It's faint," Kagome offered.

Sota shook his head. "It's really loud." He hunched his shoulders inward, trying to protect his ears.

_'We're not all hearing the same thing. This is some creepy, supernatural-'_

A prickling suspicion raised its head. "I- can you all come with me down to the property line? I want to show you something."

_'Maybe my friends weren't pretending not to see the insects to tease me. Maybe they really didn't see them.'_

"Kagome, what is this about?" Jii-chan asked grumpily, but he followed her out. "I certainly don't hear anything. Is the sound louder out here?" He put a finger in his ear.

She only made it halfway down the steps before a black shadow fell overhead. Kagome glanced up. There was a lavender shimmer in the sky, like a thin piece of curved glass. On the other side- more of those insects. She shuddered and stopped. She pointed up. "There!"

Her family looked. There was a tense silence.

"It might rain?" Mama ventured.

What.

"No, the bugs!" Kagome protested, waving her hands. "You've got to see them! Yuka and Ayumi didn't see them earlier, but there are hundreds of them up there. Right there!" She put one hand on Sota's shoulder and used the other to point again, willing them to see. Light flashed.

Sota shrieked in surprise and burrowed into her side, arms trembling around her waist. But he was staring up. "There are so many! How did I not see them?"

Mama looked frightened, her eyes wide and dark. The pupils were blown clear open, nearly overtaking her warm brown irises. She was staring at Kagome's hand.

Kagome wasn't thinking about the strange light. Maybe she should have been, but she was still stuck on the proof that the things she was seeing couldn't possibly be normal bugs. They were some kind of spirit or demon or something. Maybe an illusion? No, because they were solid.

_'They're not real insects. They're something else. Does that mean that everything Jii-chan talked about was true? Demons and ghosts and cursed artifacts? Holy spells?'_

Jii-chan was the first to speak. "Kagome… Sota. I can't see anything up there. Whatever those are, they aren't insects. They are some kind of demon or spirit." Mama nodded agreement. "What do they look like?"

Kagome indicated a length with the hand that wasn't wrapped around Sota's back. "This long. They're a sickly green color and have hard shells. They, uh." She faltered. "They have really large red eyes. When I was walking home, I thought one was watching me." She clenched her hand into a fist, because it was trembling.

_'It probably was. What did it want? Why are they here?'_

Her whole body shuddered.

"Kagome, look at me." Jii-chan breathed in slowly and calmly, modeling for her. She subconsciously copied. Her heart calmed a little. "Are any of them coming close?"

She shook her head. "No. There's something keeping them out. It's… really thin." Kagome swallowed. She'd thought it was glass earlier, but no – "It's like a soap bubble. It's iridescent and really thin. It moves a little where they press against it."

_'Watching them move makes me think of something. Something really important.'_

"This is a shrine," Mama said slowly. "A holy place. Evil things…"

"Are repelled, by the power of the talismans here!" Jii-chan nodded firmly. "Even as they are attracted to the power, they are kept away by protective measures." He managed a weak smile. "At least we know they are working. Kagome, where is the barrier strongest?"

"Uh-" She twisted, trying to see as much of the shrine grounds as possible. "I think… Two places? The barrier is coming from the tree and from the wellhouse."

_'What is it? What can't I remember?'_

Jii-chan hummed contemplatively. "That is where I store the most powerful relics. Some are very pure. Others…" He trailed off. "Let us go stand by the Goshinboku." Her family moved to do just that.

"But-" Kagome jerked her head to stare out at the city below. They were too far up to see exactly what was happening, but there was a lot of movement. It looked like maybe people were running in and out of houses, working their way west. Someone screamed in the distance. But just once. "Can't we do something? We should help people! They don't all have a temple."

"Anyone who comes here would be under our protection," Jii-chan explained. "Kagome, we are a shrine family. Perhaps an exceptionally powerful priest could travel beyond the bounds, or a traveling miko of old. But that's not how things are done anymore." He looked troubled. "I'm afraid I don't know how to do those things. I can make seals and charms of great power to contain evil or ward it away. But to wade into the center of it? I would not how to begin. None of us could hope to defeat these demons." He paused. "Although they are very small demons. Possibly weak as well."

The realization that had been dawning hit her like a star falling from the sky.

"They followed Ayumi and Yuka!" Kagome blurted out. Her family stared. She gestured at the bottom of the stairs. "When I came inside the barrier, I saw that they started to gather up against the property line. Then a few took off after Ayumi and Yuka." Her voice faltered. "It's because they were with me. Isn't it?"

 _'What are the bugs even here for? What could they do?'_ Kagome sucked on her lower lip. ' _Most people don't seem to see them. So why are people panicking? The news said there were riots.'_

"Yuka-neesan?" Sota asked quietly. His grip tightened on her shirt.

"I don't see how this could be your fault," Mama said slowly. "I can't think of a reason they would be attracted to you, Kagome. To the temple, yes, but not you. I'm sure it's not your fault." Despite her words, she looked troubled, staring in the direction of Yuka's house. She bit at her nails. "I hope the girls are safe."

Of course they were. Right? The insects didn't seem that powerful. They couldn't even get into the shrine.

"Your mother is right, Kagome. It's not your fault!" Jii-chan clapped his hands, eyebrows drawn down in determination. "However, it's still our responsibility to ensure they are safe, if those demons followed them after being repelled by the talismans I maintain. Kagome, do these fiends have a physical form?"

"Yes…" she said slowly, self-confidence dawning. "So… I guess we could hit them?" Kagome remembered how hard their shells were. "With things," she specified. "Their shells are hard. It hurt my hand."

"Hit?" Mama repeated. "We… We could do that. I'm sure that if we worked together, we could retrieve your friends and make sure they're alright." Her voice shook.

Jii-chan nodded once, making eye contact with Mama. His chest swelled up with pride and determination. " Well then. Why don't you wait inside for the girls, just in case. I will go prepare myself for battle. Kagome and I will retrieve them safely." He hobbled off quickly, towards the storage shed.

"Oh, no," Mama disagreed loudly at his back, putting her hands on her hips and leaning forwards. "I'm coming with. Sota, honey, do you know where your baseball bat is?"

He brightened. "Yeah! Be right back. I gotta find something for me too." Sota sprinted into the house before anyone could tell him he wasn't coming.

Kagome blinked. "Um. I know where something heavy is."

They met at the door a minute later. Sota was pressing a lime green whiffle bat into Mama's hand and saying something apologetic about not finding his baseball bat. Mama had her bangs pulled away from her eyes with bobby pins. Sota had a tennis racket stuffed into his pocket.

_'Sota doesn't play tennis. He plays soccer!'_

"Hey, that's mine," Kagome pointed out mutinously. "Why did you have it?"

Sota eyed her up. "Obviously you weren't planning to use it." He looked pointedly at the math textbook she had held to her chest, one she still had around from last semester. "It's light. I'm not monstrously strong like you are."

"Yeah, don't forget about that, squirt!" She made a face down at him.

"Kagome, can I help you with your hair?" Mama held up a little pink elastic. "I would hate for your bangs to get in your way. You need to see."

She blinked. "Oh, of course!"

Jii-chan rounded the doorway and eyed the group up. Mama was pulling back Kagome's hair and fastening it into a high ponytail with fingers that only shook a little. Sota had dropped to the floor to retie his shoelace. Buyo had climbed onto Kagome's shoe. Jii-chan closed his eyes for a moment and visibly steeled himself. "It could be worse," he mumbled, not quietly enough.

"I put on tennis shoes," Kagome defended. "See?" She toed the cat off. Her heart was pounding.

"Oh, those ones are comfortable, aren't they." Mama put a finger to her pale lips. "Do you think I should change too?" Her pulse was jumping in her throat.

"Alright!" Jii-chan waved the heavy uchiwa in his left hand. His right was filled with ofuda. "We should hurry and find your friends, Kagome. There's no time to waste!"

Kagome led the way, hurrying down the steps. She only paused for a moment at the property line. The people she had seen walking around were all gone. There was nothing moving as far as the eye could see, except for horrible swarms of bugs. Little green shells were perched on trees and cars with doors hanging open and the ledge of a neighbor's window. She swallowed. There were probably about a hundred of them waiting outside the shrine.

_'Everyone must have figured that something was wrong and hidden.'_

That didn't really explain how quiet it was. All she could hear was buzzing and her own breathing. She'd seen panicking people only a few minutes ago. They should be a few blocks away. Shouldn't she hear yelling and movement?

_'Something is really wrong. I wish I knew what.'_

"The insects are everywhere," she warned. "Mama, Jii-chan. I think they tend to fly around face level. So, you could probably protect yourself at least by swinging around there. I'll try to direct you, but I'll probably be busy." She swallowed. "I don't think we want to spend a lot of time around them. So we should hurry. Sota, you ready?"

He nodded, just the way jii-chan did. "Of course."

"Right."

They stepped past the barrier. The insects went nuts.

Kagome shrieked, despite fully expecting things to fly at her face. She failed to hit the first insect, swinging wildly. But the follow up swing connected and sent one of the bugs skidding across the concrete. It cracked. Yellowed viscera spilled onto the street with a sweet, rotting smell. She wrinkled her nose. Gross, but doable. Her next blow was purposeful. Swing, crack. Swing, crack. Dodge, swing, stomp, crack crack crack. She glanced at her family, to be sure they were doing alright.

"Yatta!" Sota brought the tennis racket down from overhead, flicking a beetle into the sidewalk, hard. His face was contorted in all seriousness. Mama and Jii-chan were trying too, making strange lunges that missed more than they connected. Still, they were harrying the little demons. The things seemed confused by being opposed. Clearly, whatever these were relied on the ignorance and helplessness of humans. She felt her mouth thin in disapproval.

_'How awful. I think… I think I hate demons.'_

Was that wrong?

"Oh! I think I got one!" Mama gave a little jump, still waving the whiffle bat around. "I felt something connect."

"Yeah, mom!" Sota cheered. He kicked an insect right of the air as if it was a soccer ball.

_'It's not as hard as I thought it would be. We can do this. With a little knowledge, we can help people. We'll bring my friends back to the shrine and wait out whatever this is.'_

Kagome grinned, and brought her heel down on an overturned insect. "This isn't so hard at all," she marveled. "It's easy, if you can see them."

"Behind you, Jii-chan!" Sota called. Jii-chan wasn't quite fast enough, so Mama lunged to swing wildly behind his head. Kagome only looked long enough to see it go then. Then something buzzed by her right ear and she had to move quickly.

"Did I get it?" Mama panted, tossing her head to dislodge a bit of hair that had escaped her pins.

Kagome nodded, not looking away from the particularly pointy looking monster that she was trying to bring down. "You got it!"

Once they were done, Kagome and Sota carefully picked their way out of the carnage. Mama and Jii-chan followed, attempting to copy their foot placement. Mama misstepped once. She turned a little green at the sensation of a crunchy body breaking under her slippered foot.

Sota made a sympathetic sound, holding his hands out far away from his body. There were yellow splatters on his hands and sleeves. "Well. It's gross. But I think we did it."

"Aaaaa, there's a hole in my uchiwa," Jii-chan moaned. He held the fan up and frowned at it. "I thought it was thick enough."

"Yeah, these things are heavy," Sota agreed. "I didn't see- did you get an ofuda to work?"

Jii-chan sighed heavily. "I could not see," he said, a little snappish. "That appears to matter."

Her little brother hummed. "Trade ya? I'll try." He took the damaged fan and stack of holy seals, trading over her tennis racket.

_'He probably just wants to stay cleaner.'_

Her own weapon was beginning to crust over, pages sealed with guts and other odds and ends of little demons. Her shoes weren't much better. She'd probably be scrubbing them for hours after all this was done. Kagome turned south, towards Yuka's house. "Let's go!"

"Let me go first, Kagome." Mama stepped out in front, wavering a little. But her face was determined. "You should be towards the back, so that you can see everyone and know where the bugs are."

"Aa." Kagome nodded. Her fingers were so tight around her textbook that they were turning white. "That makes sense."

Mama reached up and scratched at the exposed skin at the edge of her shirt sleeve. She was miraculously clean, if a bit sweaty and pale. "Thank you, dear. By the way, everyone watch out." Her voice was perfectly steady. "I think they bite."

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first thing I've written for either of these genres, but I felt the need to go back to the anime of my childhood. If you liked this, check out my tumblr. I'm electraposts. I post mostly crap.


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